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Navy’s
Brendon Edmistone takes the ball down the court.
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Photo:
PTE John Wellfare
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By
PTE John Wellfare
Navy gave it their all but it was RAAF who would steal victory
in the ACT Interservice Basketball in Canberra last month.
Having scored wins against all teams during the weekend of
competition, RAAF was the favourite going into the finals
against Navy.
For most of the first half it seemed as though the game would
play out as expected, with RAAF dominating play and staying
in front by a comfortable margin.
Some good shooting from Navy near the end of the second quarter
kept the sailors within striking distance and brought the
halftime score to favour RAAF 44-31.
In the early stages of the second half RAAF were unstoppable,
tearing up the court with one goal after another.
Navy caught on and tightened its defence to meet the onslaught.
For a few minutes the game was played out in the centre of
the court, with neither team able to push all the way to the
goals. Nearing the end of the third quarter Navy made its
move.
LEUT Dion Curtis set the standard with some sharp three-pointers
and the rest of the team went on the offensive until the scores
evened out at 64-all by the beginning of the last quarter.
It could have been anyone’s game as the teams moved back onto
the court. Both sides had shown their ability to score a string
of goals in a running attack.
After a standoff in the first few minutes, RAAF went on the
offensive and pushed ahead by a few points.
The Navy team members, encouraged by their performance in
the third quarter, refused to give up and fought the RAAF
players every step of the way.
In the end RAAF was too strong and took the win, 71-64.
Navy went on to take second place in the competition defeating
Army 59-54.
Combined Services Wagga placed third and Army last in fourth
place.
